Core B, the Biochemistry, Pathology and Imaging Core will continue to serve all three Projects through all five years of the Program. The core is composed of three units: (1) The Biochemistry Unit of Core B will perform assays on tissue/plasma of mice and cultured cells in the individual projects for assessment of oxidative stress, AGEs and other biochemical mediators linked to RAGE and vascular dysfunction. (2) The Pathology Unit of Core B will perform pathological analysis of mouse tissues. This Unit will serve all 3 projects for standardization of immunohistochemistry and semiquantitative analyses. The Unit will perform analysis of atherosclerosis (aortas (atherosclerosis at the aortic root and en face assessment of aorta), angiogenesis (Project 2-3) and myocardial infarction size (Project 3). (3) The newly-formed Imaging Unit will perform novel imaging techniques using state-of-the-art new equipment for molecular imaging studies in atherosclerosis and apoptosis (Project 1) and angiogenesis (Project 2).